Gwen Weightlifting

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Sunday, March 15, 2015

Kazakhstan- land of the mythical winged horses ridden by Kazakh warriors , and large palazzo's to display this iconography

When we arrive at Astana, the airport is small and
modern.It is incredibly clean and is
about the size of Ottawa Canada’s airport, another small capital city. Most
every sign is in Cyrillic with some signs having English subtitles.Almost no one speaks English in the Astana
area.Foreigners leaving the airport
have to fill out a tiny slip of paper, which looks to be simply printed off of
a laser jet. The transfer slip is about 4 inches by 2 inches, and you must
scrawl answers to simple questions like “purpose of visit”, “number of children
traveling with you”. Fortunately, the wording is in both English, Kazakh , and
Russian. I had to re-fill out mine about 3 times because it was ambiguous as to
whether the answers were to be put in the column directly next to the question
or in another column off to the right.

You could tell that they don’t get many Americans passing
through Astana. The officers knew basic
commands in English only related to their job.So, filling out the ambiguously labeled form involved a short cycle of
rework.

It was also
interesting as my daughter, who is a minor, and my husband, and myself all had
to go 1 at a time to the customs window. It is probably the only country I have
been to where families do not go to the customs window together.We were all asked if we had a Visa, despite
that the Visa requirement for Americans had been waivedduring the time period we traveled.

It is a very short walk from the passport control to the
exit of the airport.At the time, Astana
was about the same temperature as Boston, maybe even warmer.It seemed Astana was having a slightly warmer
winter than normal, and New England was having a colder, snowier winter.

The roads from the airport to Astana’s city center are wide
and well lit.We enter the city down a
wide promenade like highway, lined every few feet with tall highwaylamps lighting the path to the center.The city is clean and organized.As we would find through out the trip public
spaces are very well taken care and meticulously cleaned.

Our training hall and the site of the 2015 Kazakhstan
National Youth Championships is in Aramay Training Center- a large, clean,
somewhat modern public training building.It was about a 5 minute walk from our hotel.It is in the older section of the city, a few
miles from the gleaming downtown.

Lifters training at the Astana, Kazakhstan weightlifting hall after competing at Youth Nationals. You can see posters of Ilya Ilyin training here

People walk fast in Kazakhstan, probably because the
temperature is in the single digits (F) most of the time.Many people wear fur. Most men, especially
Kazakh men, have fur hats. Women often wear full length fur coats with hoods. Most
people wore dark color, especially black pants.

For the most part, lifters and coaches at the training hall
are very friendly and kind.The coaches
are respected, and they shake eachothers hands every time they enter the
training hall for the first time that day.The male athletes also greet the coaches with handshakes.Ivan was included in this fraternity of
coaches . There were few female athletes, so not being sure what to do, I did
not partake in the hand shaking ritual.

There is a great sense of respect for all ethnicities and
religions. There is a sculture dedicated to peace between all religions ( above) at the bayteret tower (its like their George Washington monument) People are very curious about
culture and ethnicity.In America,
people love to ask you what your ethnicity is, especially if you have an
interesting look. In Kazakhstan, people also want to know your religion.Knowing we are Catholic, it is quickly
pointed out to us that there is a Catholic church right in front of the
training center.About 60% citizens of
Kazakhstan are ethnically Kazakh and Muslim, and about 40% are ethnic Russian
and Russian orthodox Christians. In general, Russians speak Russians, Kazakhs speak Kazakh and likely Russian, and any other ethnicity probably just speaks Russian. Many people think that Ivan is Muslim because he has a goatee. Not sure if anyone assumes anything about me; though when they ask me about my ethnicity, 100% say I look Italian (pretty much every where I go, except America, do people agree I look more Italian than my other ethnicities. I think some Italian Americans have a pissing contest over who looks more Italian). Its pretty funny how having facial hair in the USA is synonymous with Americaness, being manly, being muscular, and really isn't associated with anyone religion or ethnicity when you juxtapose it to Kazakh Muslims having facial hair.

Monday, March 9, 2015

I get this question a lot. I've posted about it several times. I'm going to present this in a completely different way to help my colleagues in weightlifting, crossfit, bodybuilding, strongman, anyone who squats... to understand why weightlifting shoes are the first thing you should buy when you start lifting.

About once a month I get this question:
" Do I really need weightlifting shoes?"
"Should I buy nano's , first, then some lifting shoes if I decide I really like crossfit"

What I want to reply:
"Really? Really? Didn't you just spend $200 on an outfit from Lululemon, and you can't pony-up $130 -$200 for a pair of shoes that will fit your feet long after your quads outgrow those $200 yoga pants."

Your sport is super cheap. How much gear do you need to lift weights. Hmmm.... weight lifting shoes, a belt, wrist wraps, knee wraps, pulling straps, and a singlet.- maybe compression pants . What is that like a whopping $300-$400, and most of that equipment will last over a year. A whopping $150 amortized cost. And, if you are a crossfitter, you probably already have a pair of sneakers and some work out clothes, so you can hold off on buying a $60 sports bra and $120 nanos.

Weightlifting shoes /gear is affordable, especially compared to other sports. At least, from Risto Sports .

The Chart indicates basic personal gear needed to participate in a sport at a sporting facility

Look, to compete in horseback riding, you may need over $5000 of basic equipment - boots, jacket, shirt, gloves, crop, breeches, helmet, saddle, bridle, show pads. Hockey will cost you a couple grand in skates , pads, etc. A set of decent skis, poles, boots (imagine the pro-level gear). In weightlifting, you can buy all new ,professional grade gear for under $500 or less than 1/10th the cost of competing in riding in ok gear.

Weightlifting is safe when you do the right thing, so buy the weightlifting shoes already.

You need weightlifting shoes to protect your joints. Weightlifting shoes provide a stable base and minimize lateral motion. Lateral motion on the joints wears your joints down faster. For example, when you lift in nanos or barefoot, your ankles will roll much more than in weight lifting shoes. This will cause your knees to wobble as well; even slight wobbling will put undue stress on your knees.

Finally, your spine is under great compression when squatting, and great torque when snatching or clean and jerking. Most sneakers are designed to be cushy an unstable , for ergonomic reasons, which is good if you are standing all day long or walking around all day like a nurse. For lifting, this is exactly the opposite of what you want. You need a shoe that will allow you to position and control the weight in relation to your center of gravity -- good luck doing that with foam , EVA, and other soft soles.

Here's a video from Kazakhstan, I just took, showing girls lifting in sneakers and girls lifting in weightlifting shoes. The girls lifting in sneakers do so because they cannot afford weightlifting shoes. Their decision to wear sneakers is not one based on whether they buy the latest outfit form Lulu.

Even incredible athletes and highly flexible people need weightlifting shoes.

Yeah, yeah, you probably saw a photo of Akakhi Khakiasvillis (3 time Olympic Champion) training in sandals before the 1996 Atlanta Olympics (Ironmind photo?). Do you really think he lifted in sandals, everyday? And what percentage was he lifting up to in that photo anyhow? If you look at his training videos, they are in proper shoes. And, He still holds world record at a 188kg snatch-- that he snatched in wood heel weightlifting shoes.

A good, recent example is Dmitry Klokov. He posts many photos showing feats of strength; for example, lifting on the beach in sandals, etc. Again, look at the percentages of his best that he is lifting. He recently snatched 200kg in the warm-up room at the 2014 world championships in weightlifting shoes (my coach, Ivan Rojas, witnessed it first hand. Afterall, Risto Sports hosted Klokov's brand Team Winner at our booth at Worlds)
In summary, yeah, it looks cool to show off lifting in abysmal shoes like nanos -- AND, when it comes time for the real performance-- the record breaking , the lifting your max-- weightlifting shoes are required.
Just to illustrate, here's an example of me squatting in weightlifting shoes vs nanos.

In shoes, I am able to keep my back flat. I also maintain a straight line from the tip of the bar over my shoulders, hips, and mid foot. This means that I am effectively keeping the bar in the optimal position for power output. I am getting the most out of my muscle groups in my legs, while minimizing stress on the back. In sneakers, I am much more forward. The bar is over my toes, and in the mid squat position, I am way more pitched forward. I'm losing engagement of my hamstrings and glutes; the use of those muscles in suboptimized. Further, way more stress is on myback and abs for no reason. The bar is further form my center of gravity making it heavier to lift.

By the way, I am super flexible and mobile. I can lift in sneakers, flip flops, barefoot, high heels-- you name it. I choose not to , because I consider doing so useless showing off. I consider it putting my body in danger, for no reason, and killing my GAINZ for no reason.

MISSION: To promote the sport of Olympic weightlifting via creating Original Content on Olympic Wei

Snatching 92kg at the Risto Olympia Cup

This was the 2nd highest snatch in all of the USA for 2014 in official competition for women's 69kg weight class. The only athlete to snatch higher was Jenny Arthur with 98kg. Gwendolyn Sisto lifts for Risto Sports, the premier weightlifting company in the world. The Olympia Cup is held in conjunction with the Mr Olympia in Las Vegas, NV Join us in 2015! Gwen is lifting in all Risto Sports apparel and weightlifting shoes.

Future Champion- Tough lifters wear pink!

Stoichkov in Action

Ivan giving training advice in Frankfurt Oder

Here Ivan, as a coach, is giving lifting advice to German Junior lifters at the Olympic Training Center in Frankfurt Oder, Germany. Yes, Ivan is fluent in German and is speaking German to the lifters.

Coach Ivan Rojas

Ivan Rojas is my coach and husband. Since training with Ivan, I have went down 3 weight classes while exceeding my prior best total (acheived while training by myself as a junior vs with proper training under Ivan).

During the 80's, Ivan trained extensively as a coach and lifter in former Eastern block countries as well as Cuba.

Working out with the Champs

Gwen squatting wth Georgiev, Peschalov, and new lifter in background

Training in Bulgaria - Gwen and Coach Zdravco Stoichov

Stoichov is coach of Peschalov, Georgiev, etc. Also of key interest: Similar to USA lifters missing out on their chance to medal at the 1980 Olympics , at the time of the boycotted '84 Olympic Games, Stoichkov outlifted the LA Games Gold Medalist at the Friendship Games/ Druzhba Games. The Druzhba Games were held in 1984 by Eastern bloc countries not participating in LA.

Ivan with Nikolai Gergov, Bulgarian Wrestling Champion

Ivan with the Greco wrestling world champ, Nikolai Gergov, after their workout. I still think its uncanny how elite athletes from multiple sports would just show up at Slavia for a workout (....and atleast one ask for lifting advice). Again, overall, Bulgarian athletes were humble or, rather, didn't "have an attitude" in the gym.

MIT

Sylvia, Bulgarian Junior lifter, wearing Botev shoes

Schoolage Champ, one of Stoichov's newer lifters. Sylvia also trains in Botev shoes. Her pair is also several years old and has lasted over 18K reps per year!

Romania - Training Center in Bucharest

Me trining with Romanian lifters in Bucharest. Former USAW National Coach, Dragomir Ciroslan, had once lifted in this gym.

Wrestling World Champion (Greco) Nikolay Gergov working out in Slavia (BG), me in background

Nikolay Gergov is a Bulgarian Wrestling World Champion - Greco Roman 66kg category. Nikolai is already naemd to the 2008 Bulgarian Olympic Team. He is also competing at a meet at the Colorado Springs US OTC later this month (FEB 08). Anyhow, Nikolai just stops by for a workout in Slavia. He saw Ivan and I working out and asked Ivan for some technique coaching.

Gwen with Chinese coach of junior team at Chaoyang Ti Yu Chang (Beijing)

The coach pictured with me had won a gold medal in the snatch lifting against Karolina Lundhal (world champion) at the 1998 Worlds in Finland in 75Kg class.

Lifters in Bucharest

Ivan with Coach Chiu, gongti area Beijing

After discussion of Chinese pull technique. Chiu is a former Junior World Champion.

Good Leather Smells good

Really, this was a Candid photo..."wow, this smells good", says Little Gwen

On the weight lifting shoes:
As always, we seek to continuously improve our product offerings. So, we are bringing you a product that is designed with input from National Coaches in the America's, 100% Leather upper, solid wood heel, double-stitched, lots of hand work, and more green manufacturing footprint (less transport, manufacturing uses even more local materials, less synthetic material in the shoe).

The design is a very sturdy fit. High quality finished leather upper, with suede leather accents. Wood heel either laquered or natural finish. Rubber sole.

Lifting in Kazakhstan, Temirtau, Ilyin's former gym

In Temirtau, Kazakhstan, I'm lifting in my Risto Sports Tank top, weightlifting shoes, and compression pants. Still, unable to do any overhead work from a ligament tear, I'm just rehabbing with pulls to retrain my muscles. Training next to me is the Youth and Junior team of Temirtau. Ilya Ilyin used to train in this facility as a junior. As well as a recent Junior World Champion, Maksim

LG Gwendolyn Rojas at the 2015 Kazakhstan Youth Nationals

LG, of Risto Sports, lifts as a guest lifter of the Kazakh Weightlifting Federation. She is the youngest American to ever compete at the USAW American Open and was ranked #1 for 13&under girls in 2014

Snatching 92kg at the Risto Olympia Cup

This was the 2nd highest snatch in all of the USA for 2014 in official competition for women's 69kg weight class. The only athlete to snatch higher was Jenny Arthur with 98kg. Gwendolyn Sisto lifts for Risto Sports, the premier weightlifting company in the world.